Core-Geth: The Reference ETC Client

Core-Geth is the primary Ethereum Classic client, maintained as a fork of go-ethereum (Geth) with native support for ETC, ETH, and their respective testnets. It serves as the reference implementation for the Ethereum Classic protocol.

## Origins

Core-Geth evolved from Multi-Geth, a multi-chain variant of go-ethereum maintained by ETC Labs. When Multi-Geth development transitioned to broader community stewardship, it was renamed Core-Geth to reflect its role as the core reference client for ETC.

## Key Features

- **Multi-chain support**: Natively supports Ethereum Classic mainnet (Chain ID 61), Mordor testnet (Chain ID 63), and Ethereum mainnet/testnets
- **ETC-specific protocol rules**: Implements all ETC network upgrades (Atlantis through Spiral), ECIP-1017 monetary policy, and Etchash mining algorithm
- **Go-ethereum compatibility**: Tracks upstream Geth improvements for EVM execution, P2P networking, state storage, and JSON-RPC APIs
- **Mining support**: Full Etchash mining with stratum protocol support for pool mining

## Role in the Ecosystem

Core-Geth processes the majority of ETC network traffic. It is used by:
- Mining pools and solo miners
- RPC infrastructure providers (Rivet, Ethercluster)
- Block explorers and analytics platforms
- DApp developers and node operators

## Multi-Client Future

Ethereum Classic also supports Hyperledger Besu (Java) and has development underway on Fukuii (Scala). Running multiple independent client implementations provides consensus diversity — if one client has a bug, the others continue producing correct blocks, preventing a single point of failure from halting the network.